Syria: Palmyra – Great Colonnade
The other equally impressive part of the Palmyra Archaeological site is the Great Colonnade and the Roman Theater next to it. The Great Colonnade was the main street in the ancient Palmyra, stretching for over a kilometer, linking the Temple of Bell with the Funerary Temple and West Gate. The number of columns is quite impressive, despite quite a few having been destroyed by ISIL. The Great Colonnade was built in 2-3rd centuries AD in three separate sections. The Corinthian columns were outfitted with small brackets or podiums that originally held bronze statues along the entire route. Next to the Great Colonnade is an impressive Roman Theater of Palmyra, a spectacular structure from the 2nd century AD. During ISIL occupation, 25 prisoners were publicly executed on the stage of the theater, shot in the head on a terrorist propaganda video. The Syrian Army took over Palmyra in 2016, just to lose it again a year later. During the second ISIL occupation, the terrorist croup blew up the theater and executed the director of the Palmyra Archaeological Museum, ruins still mostly lying around, while restoration is ongoing.
